


Math Isn't Beautiful (But You Are)

by wonderfulwizardofthozz



Series: I Won't Say I'm in Love [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, IT'S GAY, Identity Reveal, Miraculous Pride Zine, Mutual Pining, Spoilers, and alyanette friendship!, and chloé is actually a good friend!, and cute ladynoir friendship!, but I don't think there are any math puns, but there are Frozen references!, let's face it I'm a failure but at least this is halfway decent, secret dating (kinda), so the ball was only a little dropped, there are puns, there is math, wow did I drop the ball on that one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 12:52:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12366198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderfulwizardofthozz/pseuds/wonderfulwizardofthozz
Summary: Marinette's been lonely ever since Alya and Chloé started dating. That is, until she and Sabrina get paired on a project for school...





	Math Isn't Beautiful (But You Are)

Marinette was happy for Alya, honest. But that didn't mean that she had to be happy for herself. If she were being honest, she'd admit that she never would've put Alya and Chloé together in a million years, but they _worked_. Somehow. Most days. Okay, there was the occasional thing where Alya came over crying and Marinette swore to stain the Seine with Chloé’s blood, but those were getting more sparse as the weeks passed.

So was Marinette's quality time with Alya.

With that in mind, Marinette knew that Alya was making an effort when she could. Overall, it left her more time to pine over Adrien (because _that_ had turned out so well for her thus far; besides, she saw how Nino stared at him the same way she did, and she was certain that he had a _way_ better shot than she ever would).

All in all, it was going okay until Alya chose to work with Chloé on a history project instead of her.

* * *

Sabrina was happy for Chloé, honest. And a little for herself, if she were being forthcoming. The more time Chloé spent with Alya, the less she'd be dragged along to things she didn't want to do...even if it meant less time with Chloé.

So what if she missed Chloé more than she wanted to admit? So what if Sabrina missed their spa days, the good grades she got on tests because she had done the homework twice, and when Chloé whined all the time?

She had come to terms with school projects being one of their only things they did together anymore, but she was heartbroken when the history project was announced and she turned to find Chloé already making eye contact with her girlfriend.

Sabrina panicked and glanced around the room until she found the other lone soul in the room: Marinette.

* * *

Marinette somehow made eye contact with Sabrina and nodded quickly at her, eyes blown wide. She had never dealt with having no partner since Nino had always sought her out, and they both smoothly transitioned to their new friends when they joined their school; it was unspoken that some combination of the four would work together on projects even when Alya made questionable life choices. Until now.

Marinette slid into the seat by Sabrina, notebook in hand. “Judging by the look on your face, you weren't expecting that, either.”

Sabrina shook her head. “Not at all. So, um, I like research. If you want to split that sixty-forty, you can do all the presentation design. If you wanted to, that is. You don't have to. I know we’re getting graded specifically on our teamwork skills this time.” She shoved her glasses back onto her nose, embarrassment washing over her.

“That's usually what Alya and I do, so that totally works. Do you want to research the first three points, and I'll do the last two?”

Sabrina started to nod but looked closer at the guidelines with a frown. “There's eight, not five. I can do five, you can do three. That math checks out, I think.” She counted on her fingers. “Yes, that's correct. Does that work?”

Marinette stared hard at her calculator, punching in the numbers slowly. “That's a little over sixty percent for you. Are you sure that's okay?”

“Yeah, for sure! Like I said, I like research.”

“And math, apparently.”

Sabrina shrugged a shoulder. “And math. Don't you like math? Sewing takes math.”

Marinette shot her a confused look. “Look, I view it as a necessary evil. I don't do it for fun or anything.”

Sabrina snorted. “Whatever you say. Math is beautiful.”

Marinette gagged, sketching her ideas for the presentation. “The French language is beautiful. Our best friends are beautiful, if a little thick headed. Adrien Agreste is beautiful. Math is _not_ beautiful.”

“Wait, back up. Did you say that _Adrien_ is beautiful?”

Marinette froze. _Dammit_.

“What about me?” Adrien turned from his spot when he heard his name the second time.

“Nothing! I said nothing!”

Sabrina smirked. “She said you're bea—”

“Awesome! Be-awesome! Yeah!” Marinette gave an awkward grin, mentally kicking herself for such a drastic mistake.

Nino was barely containing his laughter behind Adrien.

Adrien lifted an eyebrow. “Whatever you say, Marinette. Good luck on the project!” He waved, turning back to Nino. “What?”

Nino shook his head. “Nothing, dude.”

Marinette turned back to Sabrina. “Shut up! He doesn't know!”

“How? Everybody knows!”

“He's cute but dense. Like a kawaii cupcake. Wait, _everybody_ knows?”

“Um, yeah. You're painfully obvious about it, you know.”

“Ugh, and I'm trying to get over him, too.”

“How long have you been doing that, exactly?”

“...Six months. It's not going well. As in, if he asked me out right now, I'd swoon and accept without a second thought.”

Sabrina got a thoughtful look on her face. “Interesting.”

“What?”

A loud boom distracted them. Marinette leapt from her seat almost instantly, making an excuse that she had to use the restroom and running off without waiting for permission. She hid away in a stall and called for her transformation, hesitating when two more people ran in.

_Wait, I know those voices...Alya and Chloé._

“Trixx!”

“Pollen!”

“ _Transformez-moi!_ ”

Ladybug’s jaw dropped straight to the floor. _Everything makes so much sense now!_

Rena Rouge and Queen B left, giving Ladybug a chance to get out and run to the scene.

The other three were already present when Ladybug (finally) arrived. She was having a hard time keeping it together, now noticing the little ways her teammates showed affection even in the middle of a battle: they stood a little closer together, their fingers brushed ever so slightly, they—

“Buginette?”

She turned to Chat Noir. “Yes. Akuma. Sorry. What’s going on?”

“Annoying water akuma. B and Rena are gonna go scout out the item while we sit tight. Are you doing okay?”

“I’m fine! Never better!” She smiled at all three of them, nerves killing her not-so-calm demeanor. “Good luck!”

Queen B and Rena Rouge ran off, giving Chat a chance to talk to Ladybug.

“You don’t seem alright.”

“I found out some things that I wasn’t meant to discover is all. I’m a little shaken by it, obviously.”

“Why couldn’t you tell them about it?” Chat gestured in their general direction, pointedly ignoring a scream of disgust from Queen B.

Ladybug pressed her lips together. “Because they’re the thing I found out.”

His eyes went wide. “Oh. Oh, I see.”

“Yeah. I’ll deal with it later. They’re coming back.”

Queen B was pouting, completely drenched. “This is awful.”

Rena Rouge was equally as soaked but didn’t complain. “There’s a necklace. Let’s go.”

“ _Water_ we waiting for?” Chat grinned and ran into the fray, not staying behind for the girls to start griping at him.

“I thought cats didn’t like water!” Ladybug called after him, following close behind.

Rena winked at Queen B. “Not your idea of a wet dream?” She held out her hand and helped her down. “Just for you, my Queen.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes and ducked another water attack. “If you two could quit flirting and come help us, that would be great. _Lucky Charm_!” She received an umbrella in time to deflect another attack.

“I guess it’s time for you to _seas_ and desist!”

“ _Chat!_ ”

* * *

When they defeated the akuma, Ladybug wrung her pigtails out and snuck back into the bathroom before her teammates did, waiting until they were gone and she was in the clear to leave. She slinked out as the bell was ringing and started running to the classroom, colliding with someone as soon as she got to the door.

“Sabrina! I’m so sorry! Let me help you with that!” Marinette immediately crouched and helped her pick up loose papers and books.

They reached for the same piece of paper and froze when their hands touched.

Marinette’s eyes shot up to Sabrina’s, sharing the same expression they had earlier. Sabrina’s cheeks turned pink, her lips parted in surprise. Marinette tore her eyes away and mumbled an apology, her own cheeks burning as she collected the remaining papers and held them out.

“I’m, uh, I’m s-sorry. I’ll text you about the project, yeah?” Marinette chanced a glance at Sabrina and gave a hopeful smile. “I’ll see you later.” She slid into the classroom past her, hiding her face as she gathered her things.

Alya waved to Nino and finished gathering her own things. She smirked and spoke when everybody else was out of earshot. “What was that about?”

“What was what about?”

Alya raised an eyebrow. “You know.”

Marinette stuck out her tongue at her. “I ran into her and got embarrassed. What else is there to know? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go work on our project.” She hugged Alya and kissed her cheek. “Love you, girl.”

“Love you, too. Hey, don’t forget that we’re hanging out on Friday. Chloé’s out of town.”

Marinette nodded. “Right. Looking forward to it!” She waved and smiled. “Have a nice afternoon!”

“Bye!”

* * *

Friday night arrived, and Marinette planned a full schedule for her evening with Alya. They played games and had snacks, eventually resorting to a binge-watching session.

Marinette paused the Netflix show she and Alya were watching to ask a question a few episodes in. “Alya, how did you know that you were pansexual?”

Alya blinked. “Well, huh. That’s a question. It definitely has an answer.” Her face turned red. “Well, I realized that I was staring at an awful lot of butts.”

Marinette snorted. “You _what?_ ”

“We were sitting in French class, and people were walking to the front, and I was staring at literally everybody’s ass. I knew I couldn’t be straight since I’d been doing it regularly for weeks, so I thought I was bi for a while. I did some more research—”

“If it was Tumblr, it doesn’t count as research, Alya.”

“ _—and anyway_ , I found out that the pansexual definition was more to my liking. There’s not much difference, honestly, and I know lots of people who have the same preferences that I do and prefer the bisexual label. Some don’t want any labels, and that’s totally their right.”

Marinette nodded, taking in the information. “So, how did you like my ass?”

“It’s one of your better _ass_ ets.” Alya winked, laughing.

Mari snorted. “You’ve been spending too much time around Chat.”

“I have not!”

“Have too! He told that pun to me last week!”

“He—wait, he did?” Alya inspected her, confusion and suspicion mixed on her face.

Marinette paused. “Oh, shit.”

“What are you keeping from me, Dupain-Cheng?”

She cringed. “That I know you’re Rena Rouge? And that Chloé is Queen B?”

“ _And?_ ”

“And that I’m...Ladybug?”

Alya sighed, relieved. “Oh, thank goodness I was right.”

“What?”

She waved a hand dismissively. “I’ve wondered about it for months, but I could never get anything definite. Which leads me to how _you_ found out. Chloé and I were so careful!”

“The water akuma. I ran into the bathroom and you guys didn’t check the perimeter when you ran in there.”

“Damn. Anyway, what brought this on?”

Marinette looked away and mumbled.

“I didn’t catch that.”

She cleared her throat and spoke a little louder. “I think I’m bisexual.”

Alya blinked. “Oh?”

Marinette shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not sure, though. Like, what if it’s just this one person? Maybe it _is_ just a phase. I might be overthinking this.”

“You might be demisexual.”

“Demi what now?”

“Demisexual. Like, only attracted to people with whom you’ve made an emotional connection. You kind of did that with Adrien.”

Marinette let it sink in. “You might be right. But I like the way bisexual sounds, you know? That, and most people know what bisexual means.”

“That’s fair. People think pansexual means ‘attracted to everything’ sometimes, and that’s just not the case.” Alya smirked. “Although, there’s a certain bee I find rather attractive…”

“Alya!”

* * *

The following Monday, Marinette and Sabrina were almost done giving their presentation.

“...and that’s how Americans showed solidarity after the terrorist attacks on November thirteenth.” Sabrina pushed her glasses up. “Any questions?”

Mme Bustier cleared her throat. “How did you two split the project?”

“Marinette did the bulk of the design, and we split the research sixty-fortyish. The math didn’t quite work out, but I would say that we did an equal amount of work. Math is beautiful like that.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Math is _not_ beautiful.”

The bell rang as she finished talking.

“The rest of the presentations will be tomorrow!” Mme Bustier called over everybody.

Marinette held out her fist to Sabrina. “ _Bien joué!_ ” She turned to pack her things, turning back when Sabrina called her name. “Hm?”

“I, uh, I wanted to thank you for your help in the project.”

“It was no trouble! It was a group project, anyway.”

Sabrina blushed, eyes downcast. "Yeah. A-anyway, I wanted to tell you that I think you're really pretty, and I hope we can keep being friends after this." She looked up and met Marinette's gaze, anxiety hiding behind her eyes.

Marinette’s mouth hung open. "O-oh. Um, thank you. I'd like to hang out more, too." She stuck out her hand for a handshake that rated somewhere close to a million on the Awkward Scale™—give or take about six. “Have a good day!” She cringed internally but didn’t let it show.

“Yeah, you too. See you.” Sabrina hurried away, tears stinging her eyes. "Stupid, stupid, _stupid_! She'll never feel the same way about you!" She made it to the bathroom and hid herself in a stall, her sobs echoing off the walls. She took her glasses off and pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, gasping for breath. She tried fruitlessly to regulate her breathing, only calming when the door slammed open.

“Sabrina, come out here. I know you’re hiding.”

She sniffed and hiccupped. “Give me a second.” She wiped a few more tears and put her glasses back on, miffed that they kept sliding because of the added moisture. Sabrina unlocked the stall door and found Chloé fixing her lip gloss in the mirror. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself. You look awful. What happened?” Chloé rummaged in her purse while she listened.

“Well, remember that thing I told you about? You know, about Marinette?”

“You mean your crush on her? Here, cooling whatever for your eyes. I’ll get you a paper towel.”

“Yeah, my crush on her...well, you see, I kinda tried to tell her and she gave me a _handshake_ and it was stupid and awkward and I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place and she’ll never like me back and—and—” Sabrina bit her lower lip, embarrassed at the tears that continued to fall. She wrapped her arms around herself, leaning into Chloé’s embrace when she offered it. “I’m sorry. It’s stupid, and I know it. I’m sorry.”

“Sabrina, you have nothing to apologize for. If that girl can’t see how amazing you are, then she’s just as dumb as I think she is. You deserve better.”

“But she’s so kind, Chloé. And caring and pretty…” She sighed. “Why was our breakup easier than this?”

“Because we had a friendship to fall back on, even if I wasn’t great at expressing it. With this you have, what, one school project? A weird connection because I’m dating Alya? Either it’ll work out, or it won’t. There’s no telling what will happen. Now, let’s get you cleaned up; we have dinner at the hotel.”

Sabrina sniffed and smiled. “Thanks, Chloé.”

“You’re welcome. And if she hurts you, you know I’m gonna kick her ass, right?”

Sabrina laughed. “I sure do! I sure do.”

* * *

Marinette flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling as soon as she got home. “What am I gonna do, Tikki?”

“What do you mean, Marinette?”

“I wanna keep hanging out with Sabrina, but I know that Chloé still doesn’t like me even though she’s dating Alya. Like, imagine how hard that would be on Sabrina. Her best friend hates me, Tikki. Well, Marinette me. She absolutely _adores_ Ladybug, but I can’t say that to Sabrina. Telling Alya was enough. But she’s probably so lonely. I can’t just abandon her, you know?”

“Then don’t. Talk to her, Marinette.”

“What do I say?”

“Say what you’re thinking! She’ll understand. Besides, Chloé’s busy with Alya; how much could she get into your business?”

Marinette nodded. “That’s true. Are you telling me that I should go for it?”

“Only if you want to. You know I can’t force you to do anything.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to her before school tomorrow.” A scream drew her attention. “Ugh. Again, really?”

“Duty calls!”

“Right you are. Tikki! _Transformez-moi!_ ”

* * *

Marinette approached Sabrina the next morning near the lockers.

“Hey, Sabrina?”

Sabrina looked up at her from her books, eyes wide. “Oh. Hi.”

Marinette bit her bottom lip, begging the anxiety welling up in her to stop flowing. “I-I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I enjoyed doing you with the project— _doing the project with you!—_ and I’d love to hang out with you more. I just…” She sighed, trying to find the words. “It’s no secret that Chloé doesn’t like me unless I’m Ladybug, and—” Marinette covered her mouth. “Oh, shit.”

“Wait, excuse me?”

“You weren’t supposed to say that! I mean! I wasn’t supposed to hear that! _No! Dammit!”_

Sabrina pushed her glasses back up, a look of awe coming to her face. “Everything makes so much sense now.”

“You can’t tell anybody! Like, I already spilled the beans to Alya last week, and now this, and _oh my gosh Chat’s gonna kill me_ —”

Sabrina grabbed her by one shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. I get it. Your secret’s safe with me, okay? I won’t tell Chat, and I definitely won’t tell Chloé.”

Marinette visibly relaxed. “Oh, thank goodness. I just don’t know what she’d do with that information.”

Sabrina nodded. “She can be hard to get along with. I could say she’s getting better all I want to, but it doesn’t erase all the crappy things she did before. You can trust me not to tell her. You know what, why don’t you come over tomorrow evening? We can talk about everything and...stuff…”

Marinette’s face lit up before sinking. “I have patrol tomorrow.”

“After, then. Stop by on your way home.”

“Are you sure? It’ll be past midnight, probably.”

“I’m positive. It’ll be good for you to have someone else in the know, especially someone who won’t madly follow you into the fray for a scoop.”

Marinette snorted. “Isn’t that the truth. Okay, tomorrow, after patrol. Thanks, Sabrina.” She leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek and froze for a split second before turning it into a gentle peck. “You’re the best. See you.” She spun on her heel and ran out, her face flaming. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Marinette stopped by Sabrina’s the next night as promised, their project now forgotten as they giggled over a video. They shared a blanket, thighs touching while they watched a vine compilation on Marinette’s phone.

Marinette snickered. “I gotta watch that again just for that cat.”

“The cat? Come on, the goats are better.”

Mari shrugged a shoulder. “What can I say? I’m partial to cats.”

Sabrina giggled. “I’ll give you that. So, what’s it like? Being a superhero?”

She took a contemplative breath. “Exhilarating, refreshing, rewarding...but also terrifying. I understand that we haven’t failed yet, but what if we do? From what I can tell, it’s just us kids against the evil in the world, and it’s up to us to save the day. It can be a lot of pressure I wish I didn’t have. Like, I have enough problems studying for my stupid math homework sometimes. I definitely don’t need to worry about the fate of Paris on top of everything else I do. Ugh, that feels like it should be the other way around, but it really isn’t sometimes. And oh gosh, I’m rambling. I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be. You have to let it out somewhere.” Sabrina yawned. “You know, it’s getting late. Do you—do you wanna do this again next week? I’ll make cookies.”

Marinette stretched. “That sounds like a good idea. It’s not like it’s getting any earlier.” She yawned also. “Thanks for listening. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

Sabrina offered her a quick hug. “See you.”

Mari fought the blush creeping up her neck and called for a transformation, relaxing a fraction when she was suited up. “Bye.” She winked and swung into the night, panicking when she ran into somebody a few blocks later and tumbled onto an empty roof. “Um, hello?”

“Buginette!” Chat Noir helped her up. “I’m so sorry!”

“Chaton! What are you doing up so late?”

“I should ask you the same thing! It’s almost three!”

“No, it isn’t!” She looked at her yoyo, eyes bugging out before she returned to her cool demeanor. “Okay, for the record, I _am_ right. It’s a little past three.”

“What a difference! But seriously, what are you doing out so late?”

“Just...hanging out. With a f-friend.”

“Ladybug, are you blushing?”

“No!” (She was definitely blushing.)

“Do you have a crush on this friend?”

“No! I mean, maybe? It’s all confusing. I’ve never liked a girl like this before, and it’s only been a week, and I swore I was in love with a guy two weeks ago and _what is with me and rambling tonight?_ ”

Chat blinked. “Oh. I can see why that’s a dilemma.”

“Right? Like, Sabrina’s so sweet when you get to know her. Not that Adrien isn’t, I just...it’s different, I guess? I don’t know. I’m too tired for this.” She rubbed her eyes, missing the queer look on Chat’s face.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. How old are we? We definitely don’t have to have it figured out already. But I’m around if you wanna talk about it, okay?” He yawned. “We need to go to bed or else we’ll be dead for school tomorrow. Goodnight, my Lady.” He waved as he dropped off the roof.

“Goodnight, Chat.”

* * *

Wednesday came, and that brought Marinette back to Sabrina’s. “Okay, but how did you know that snickerdoodle was my favorite? These are amazing!”

Sabrina gave her a sly smile. “I have my ways.”

“You overheard Alya, didn’t you?”

“Hey, a magician never reveals her secrets!” She pushed the _close_ button on her DVD player. “You might not like this documentary, but it’s about galaxies and space and stuff. Space is so pretty.”

Marinette spoke around her cookie, stroking Tikki’s head. “Is there math involved?”

“I mean, maybe a little.”

Mari shook her head. “You and your math.”

“I don’t know if you know this, but a lot of math goes into you being able to swing around the city on an indestructible yoyo. Wait, _is_ it indestructible?”

Tikki swallowed her bite. “Like you said, a magician never reveals her secrets!” Her laugh softened the atmosphere as Sabrina settled next to Marinette and spread a blanket over their legs, making a nest for Tikki between them.

“Wait, hold up. Is this about _astrophysics_?”

“I told you it was about space!”

Marinette rolled her eyes and flopped backwards. “Whatever. Nerd.”

Sabrina reclined next to her, supporting herself on an elbow. “Excuse me, but _you’re_ the class rep. That automatically raises your nerdiness.”

“But I’m also a superhero, so that negates any nerdy qualities.”

“Hey, if that’s true for you, then it’s also true for Chat, and you call him a nerd all the time by your own admission.”

“Crap. Okay, I’ll accept that nerdy point, but only on principle. Chat’s worse than the two of us combined on any given day.”

Sabrina pondered that for a moment. “Okay, so what you’re saying is that while you’re a _little bit_ of a nerd, and I’m _somewhat_ of a nerd, Chat Noir, one of the other heroes of Paris and flirt extraordinaire, is the nerdiest nerd to ever nerd?”

“I can assure you that he most definitely is. While I love him dearly, it can be excruciating sometimes.”

“That’s fair. Speaking of excruciating, how’s that crush on Adrien coming?”

Marinette blushed much less than she thought she would’ve. “Better, surprisingly. With my luck, he noticed me already, but we passed like ships in the night, and so our love could never work in the daytime.”

“While that was poetic, aren’t you the embodiment of good luck?”

She shrugged, meeting her eyes. “Wish I could tell you, Bri.” _Wish I could kiss you, Bri. Wait, where did_ that _come from?!_

“You’re the one who has magical superpowers, and you can’t even get the guy you like. Yikes.”

“You don’t have magical superpowers, and you’re in the same boat with guys.”

Sabrina bit her lip. “Actually, I wouldn’t be in the same boat with guys. I’m a lesbian.”

Marinette blinked. “Oh. I’m sorry for assuming; I didn’t know. Do you have a girlfriend, then?”

Sabrina’s cheeks flamed as she shook her head. “I sorta dated Chloé for a while, but we didn’t work in a romantic capacity. Th-there’s another girl I’m interested in, but she has no idea. She’s probably straight, and I know she’s pining after a guy in her class.”

“Hey, don’t make the same silly mistake I just did. While I pine over Adrien, I’m starting to think I might be bi or something. Alya suggested I might be demisexual when we talked about it a few weeks ago, but I haven’t figured it out yet. That makes me sound like a bad gay, doesn’t it?” Mari laughed nervously, fidgeting with the fringe on Sabrina’s blanket. “You know, I should go before it gets too late. We have that French exam tomorrow, and we both need our rest. I’ll see you next week?” She was already half out of the bed, scooping Tikki into her hands. “Thanks again for the cookies.”

“Yeah, next week. Have a safe trip home.” Sabrina waved a little, mesmerized by the transformation. “Bye.” She dropped her hand when Ladybug was out of sight, a tiny seed of hope planted in her chest.

_There’s a chance!_

* * *

Ladybug dropped into Sabrina’s window again the next Wednesday. “Sorry I’m late, I—” She turned and saw Sabrina sleeping on her desk, a half-eaten plate of cookies out. Ladybug smiled and gathered her into her arms, tucking her into bed with a kiss on the forehead.

She looked around for a piece of paper, munching on a cookie in the meantime. “Here we go. ‘SR, sorry I missed you. Thanks for the cookies; they were great! MDC.’ There, that works.” She drew a little ladybug in the corner of the paper, left it where Sabrina would find it the next morning, and made her escape with a few extra cookies in tow as she made her way home.

“Ladybug!”

She swung herself to a stop so Chat could catch up. “Hey, _chaton._ What are you up to?”

“Oh, I’m just...out.” He shrugged a shoulder. “You?”

“Yeah, just...out. Cookie?” She held one out to him, which he readily accepted.

“This is amazing! Who made this?”

Ladybug laughed nervously. “Oh, nobody. Just that girl I’ve been visiting.” She munched on her own cookie while they sat down next to each other.

“And how is she?”

“Well...she was asleep.”

Chat raised an eyebrow. “How did you get the cookie?”

“She made them before I got there and left them out? Look, it’s not my fault she fell asleep at her desk.”

Chat shook his head. “That’s the worst. I always wake up with weird back pain that I have to stretch out. I feel bad for her future back pain.”

“She...probably won’t have any. I might’ve...tucked her into bed?”

“You tucked her into bed?! My gosh, Buginette. You have it bad.”

Ladybug cringed. “I know. I’ve fallen hard. But it’s not my fault she’s funny and charming and cute, you know? Other than liking math. That’s just absurd.”

Chat scoffed. “I like math. Okay, physics, but still.”

“Oh, did I tell you that she turned on a documentary about astrophysics last week? She did that! For fun!”

“You know, I probably have a few of those lying around.”

Ladybug laughed. “I was right. You _are_ a nerd.”

He pretended to be offended. “Hey now, math is beautiful!”

“And now you sound like her, so I will give my standard response: _math is not beautiful._ ”

“Do you know what _is_ beautiful?”

Ladybug sighed. “I definitely do. She is.”

“Um, wow, way to make it sweet and stuff. I was gonna say visualizations of the Fibonacci sequence, but thanks for showing me up.”

“Visualizations of the Fibonacci sequence? What? No, that’s not beautiful!”

Chat held up a finger while he searched on his baton. “See? Golden ratio. It actually _is_ beautiful, and it’s math.”

She huffed. “Whatever. This one, singular math thing is beautiful.” She sighed. “She’s my new golden ratio.”

“Do I need to get Rena to come take you home? You’re a mess.”

“Oh, shut up, Chat. Just enjoy your cookie.”

* * *

Sabrina stopped Marinette in the hallway the next morning. “Hey, I got your note when I woke up. Thanks for putting me to bed.”

“Oh, it was no trouble! You’re bound to get a weird back pain when you sleep like that.” Marinette noticed Adrien passing at that exact moment, a confused look on his face. “Hold on, Bri. Adrien, are you alright?” She turned to keep track of him, but he was already long gone. “That was weird. Whatever. Anyway, where were we?”

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. “You know that you didn’t stutter or make a total idiot of yourself, right?”

“Huh. I guess I didn’t. There’s a first time for everything, they say.” She shrugged a shoulder, determined not to think of it for the time being. “Anyway, thanks for the cookies. They were great! Chat loved them, too.”

“I’m glad to hear that! Oh, gotta go. See you Wednesday.”

Marinette waved as she passed. “Wednesday!” She jumped when Alya tapped her shoulder, making a strangled sound. “Jeez! Hi!”

“Hey yourself. Wanna explain what that was about?” Alya’s expression said that she already knew everything that was going on, but that was impossible, wasn’t it?

Marinette glanced around for Chloé, only speaking when she saw they were in the clear. “So, remember that conversation we had where I said there was a girl and I came out? Well…”

Alya’s face lit up. “Girl! Go for it!”

“But Chloé!”

Alya waved a hand. “But nothing. I saw how Sabrina was looking at you.”

“Pssh. She said she was interested in a girl who was already pining over a guy, and—oh. _Oh_.”

“Yeah, _oh._ She meant you, you beautiful tropical fish.”

Marinette let the information sink in, still a little stunned. “Oh.”

“Come on, you priceless gem. Let’s get you to class.”

* * *

 

Saturday night brought a quick patrol for Ladybug and Chat Noir, so they decided to relax on a secluded rooftop and talk like they used to in the “good old days.”

Ladybug flicked her wrist and performed small tricks for Chat while he talked about the woes of his love life. “That’s rough, buddy.”

He scrunched his nose. “Don’t use _Avatar_ on me. Besides, you’re more of a Katara than a Zuko.”

“Am not!”

Chat held up his fingers while he made his points. “You talk about hope, you have blue eyes, you have magic powers—”

“Waterbending isn’t magic, Chat.”

“—and you have jewelry that’s special to you, so there.”

“If anything, I’m Korra. Badass, same blue eyes, spunky, and gay.”

“That’s fair, but you need an animal guide if you’re Korra.”

“Doesn’t Tikki count?”

“...True. Dammit, why do you have to be right?”

“Because I’m clearly the best.” She winked at him and laughed when he pouted. “I’m sorry you’re struggling, though. I hope you and that guy can work things out.”

“Thanks. So, how’s your love life going? Still talking to that girl?”

Ladybug stilled her yoyo, a distant look in her eye. “I think she might be interested in me, too.”

“Have you asked her?”

“Well...no…”

Chat stretched and laid back. “Well, that would be the first step.”

“I know, but my best friend thinks that she might be, and she’s usually right about this stuff. My other best friend, I mean.”

Chat chuckled. “Of course.”

“I just don’t know how to ask her.”

“Talk to her. Tell her how you feel first.”

She sighed. “But that’s so nerve-wracking.” Ladybug thought for a moment, a plan forming in her mind. “You know what? I’ll do it if you do it.”

Chat narrowed his eyes at her. “Challenge accepted.”

“I’m serious, Chat. We’re both dancing around these cool people, and we are uncool, so we ought to take the opportunity while it arises.”

He scoffed. “Since when are _we_ uncool? We’re superheroes.”

“Okay, _I_ am not uncool, but you’re still a huge nerd.”

He put his hand to his chest in fake hurt. “Excuse me! Anime and an unerring love for physics does not a nerd make!”

She rolled her eyes. “If not that, then the puns do.”

“I mean, you have a point as far as that goes.”

“Then it’s settled. You’re a nerd, and we need to confess our affections.”

Chat Noir, the ever mature and respectable hero, stuck his tongue out at her. “What do I get out of this?”

“A huge weight lifted off our chests? A chance to find true love?”

“But what about ‘Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know’?”

“No. It all ends tomorrow, or it has to be today.”

They started singing, “For the first time in forever, nothing’s in our way!” Ladybug screeched when Chat pushed her—and caught her before she fell.

“You jerk!”

He held her close and laughed. “Worth it!”

She planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for listening to me these last few weeks. Hopefully, everything changes tomorrow. Either that, or I'm inviting myself as a third wheel on your dates with that boy.”

He kissed her head. “You'll do great. Everything will turn out.”

“Thanks, Chat. Good luck.”

“You too, Ladybug.”

* * *

 

Ladybug startled Sabrina when she dropped in the next afternoon after school.

“Mari! I wasn't expecting you today!”

Ladybug released her transformation and gave Tikki a few cookies before she flew off.

“I have something to tell you.” She must’ve looked as nervous as she felt; Sabrina was quick to offer hospitality.

“Here, let's sit down. I'll get a blanket.”

They settled down, Marinette's internal panic only growing with each passing second.

“What's up?”

“I'm pregnant, and you're the mother. Wait, no! Dammit, I can't believe I said that. I'm a virgin, so that's obviously not it. Um…” She took a deep breath. “Oh my gosh. I'm sorry.”

Sabrina reached over and took her hand. “Hey, it's okay. Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

Marinette bit her lip. “I know you might not feel this way about me, but I like you. Like, _like_ -like you.” She took another deep breath, desperate to keep herself together. “That’s all I had. I understand if you don’t feel the same way, but I’ve enjoyed sneaking around and getting to know you and all that stuff.” She twisted the fringe on the blanket between her fingers. “So, yeah. I hope this doesn't change too much between us.”

Sabrina surged forward and kissed Marinette’s cheek, panic and excitement peeking out of their hiding places behind her eyes. “Is that okay?”

Marinette kissed her cheek in return, a deep blush spreading with her smile. “It’s more than okay.” She laid her forehead on Sabrina’s, nervous giggles bubbling forth from them both.

Sabrina whispered, “May I kiss you?”

Mari angled her head just so and planted her lips on hers, hands coming to cup Bri’s head in the soft bliss of the moment.

They broke the kiss a second later and resumed their forehead touch in silence until Marinette spoke up. “I know I keep saying that math isn’t beautiful, but—”

“Math _is_ beautiful!”

“No, _math_ isn’t beautiful, but _you_ are, Sabrina.”

She giggled again. “So are you, Marinette. So are you.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, I got picked to be part of the Miraculous Pride Zine! While Leisey and livinglittlelie didn't, we still wanted to do the series we'd had in mind when we applied. So, this happened. (I may have a thing for math.)
> 
> I'd love to write more, but I'm really not feeling it today. I'll write more of a cute A/N when I'm not having such a weird week.
> 
> Love you all  
> xoxo -wwot


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